Irish agencies begin responding to Pakistan disaster

Irish aid agencies are beginning to send personnel and resources to Pakistan to help the relief effort following Saturday's devastating earthquake.

The agencies are also seeking donations from the public to help those affected by the 7.6-magnitude tremor.

Up to 40,000 are believed to have died, while millions more have been made homeless.

The relief operation is being hampered by the widespread damage caused to roads.

GOAL sent seven experts to the region today to assess the situation and the needs of the local population, while the Irish Red Cross has allocated €100,000 to the aid effort.

Concern also has workers on the ground, where spokesperson Dorothy Blaine said the situation was slowly becoming clearer.

"Most of the roads are now unblocked, so that should make things a lot easier for people," she said.

"There's only one or two of the main arteries that are still blocked."